Despite the hype surrounding the British boy band, the main floor had unfilled seats and the balcony was largely empty Tuesday for the group's show at the 2,500-capacity Riverside Theater — even with "Call Me Maybe" hitmaker Carly Rae Jepsen as co-headliner.

Then again, "Maybe" is soooo summer 2012. And maybe the weeknight kept people away, or the fact that fellow boy band Big Time Rush was at the same theater less than two weeks ago.

But parents had nothing to worry about Tuesday. The naughtiest the guys got was tossing water onto fans' heads during the big finale, "Glad You Came." And the 55-minute set actually benefited from the shortcoming in attendance. It made it easier for the Wanted guys to make eye contact with exuberant admirers in the balcony, and kneel down for extended hugs with squealing fans from the stage (Nathan Sykes was the most generous hug-giver). These were intimate exchanges often lost, or prohibited by security, at an arena-size Justin Bieber or One Direction show.

Lending to the intimacy was the guys' seemingly off-the-cuff behavior. The Wanted avoided the forced come-ons, the melodramatic smolders, the flirty stripteases that make Bieber, Big Time Rush and Cody Simpson concerts artificial fantasies. Instead, you had Tom Parker (the unofficial leader of the group) running around in a circle like Daffy Duck, and Jay McGuiness dragging Siva Kaneswaren by the wrist across the stage to personally meet a fan. Tough-guy Max George got pelted with a glow-in-the-dark, rainbow-colored necklace, and he responded with a smile and thumbs up.

These moments, and individual fan reactions — including your typical full-body freakouts and overjoyed weeping — resulted in a more tangible boy-band show experience. As did the songs, which possess more soul and broader appeal than the kiddie stuff Big Time Rush and One Direction manufacture. "I Found You" brought together Bee Gees falsetto and an electric club beat, while "We Own The Night" re-imagined a spirited Irish drinking song as youthful pop.

And between the smoothly sturdy harmonies and solos, and the rock punch of a four-piece live band, the fans on their feet managed to make that mostly empty balcony bounce to the beat several times throughout the set.

Jepsen could have used her co-headliner's heft. The leap from five songs opening for Bieber at the BMO Harris Bradley Center last fall to 50 minutes Tuesday proved too great, given her largely shallow, instantly forgettable pop songs. (The most memorable thing about them Tuesday, but not in a good way, was her nasally vocals.) Still, the teen-girl-dominated crowd seemingly identified with Jepsen's cutesy stage presence (although, through this adult's eyes, seeing the 27-year-old act 15 was strained and tedious), and when Jepsen dialed in "Maybe," complete with streamer-and-confetti shower, adults and kids alike sang along.

THE TAKEAWAYS

■ The Wanted couldn't avoid one boy band cliché: the part in the show when girls come up on stage to be serenaded. But even this portion of the show was loose — McGuiness spun a girl fan around in his arms, while Parker let one girl jump on his back and pose for a cell picture.

■ At one point, the boy band actually picked up real live instruments (how about that?) for a fun medley of Killers songs — including "Human," "When You Were Young," "All These Things That I've Done," "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside" — although the backing band did most of the heavy lifting.

About Piet Levy

Piet Levy covers music for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and TapMilwaukee.com. For more music updates, you can also follow him on Facebook and Instagram​.